Berlin 8/14/08-8/19/08

Brittney arrives in Atlanta on the evening of the 13th. We gladly catch up with each other and plan our final packing for the "Much More Fun Than a High School Reunion European Vacation." Jonathan gets us through Atlanta traffic so we make our international flight just on time, plus we help a Bulgarian lady through security and to the gate. She seem slightly frightened to go it alone not knowing English. Brittney and I thought maybe it would give us some good karma because we were heading off to Germany and Prague without knowing German or Czech and would be in the same situation soon enough.

When we arrive in Berlin it is about 12:30 in the afternoon, we figure out the bus system with some confusion and hop on the S-Bahn to the stop that is closest to our hotel. No problems, but excited to get rid of our heavy luggage.

Here is the first picture we took in Germany. It was just outside of a small park on our way to the hotel. Brittney and I thought it was just hilarious. Just remember to bring a scissors to any park you go to in Berlin because you may get stuck and have to cut yourself loose.

We decided it would be a good thing if we stayed awake to get acclimated to the time change. We decided to walk around neighborhood called Kreuzberg. The neighborhood is very multi-cultural and has a strong Turkish influence. We tried to make it to the Turkish Market, but the rain kept us away. It was rainy but we braved a nice walk anyway. We went through Victoria Park and saw a really pretty waterfall and some nice architecture along the way.

Then we found a great little Thai place for our first meal in Germany! So glad to get out of the rain!

We're beat! Back to the hotel to crash.

The next morning we are up bright and early to visit the Reichstag, Germany's Parliament building, well not early enough because the line to go up in the dome is unreal. Brittney makes the best of it by strutting her stuff out front. Then Brittney and I get a rare photo together with an odd sculpture near the Brandenburg Tor.

The Brandenburg Tor was amazing, such a symbol of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Cold War. People were everywhere and it felt like you had to keep moving while you were trying to get a good look. There were actors posing as soldiers and some people protesting the "thing" to protest that day.

So Brittney and I continued on to the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. It was a very sobering affair, but well done and informative. At the entrance of the Holocaust Museum there was a girl who would give you a brochure and tell you how to go through the museum. She automatically started to speak English to Brittney and I, then went to the next group a started speaking Korean, and then to the next group in Italian. I find it amazing that someones brain can work like this going from one language to another fluidly without falter. I hope they pay her a lot for her skill. Probably not, however.

We spent the rest of the day around Potzdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie, where the Americans acted as border guards between East and West Germany, as well as much random wandering around getting the lay of the land. We ate lunch at a great little organic cafe. Tomato Basil Soup was beyond excellent. (Really need to try to recreate that basil pesto they put in it)

Also, I broke one of my cardinal rules of souvenir shopping. We went into this "Always Christmas" type store near Checkpoint Charlie and I fell in love with their handmade Christmas windmills. You know what I'm talking about? They are made of wood and you put lit candles on it and it turns the windmill above it and makes the little wooded figures move in a circle at the base. Well, anyway my rule for souvenir shopping when a plane is involved is that it has to be compact and be able to fit in the suitcase with no issues. Well this has all the issues. As you will see in many travel pictures to come I am carrying a big box in a bag. I'm glad to say, however, all the trouble the "Hummel" (The name it was given on the trip) caused was worth it and it arrived in Atlanta in one piece. Now I just have to wait until Christmas to use it!

The next day we saw a very strange site at the parking area for the S-Bahn stop near our hotel. We figured out that this was a couple who thought they stumbled upon a very "innovative" way to use their teamwork skills. This couple first of all drives a very large van and Brittney and I see them just dumping lots and lots of cans out the back of it. First we think, "Wow, how rude, I can't believe they are just going to dump all that stuff out." But then we realize their master plan. The guy's job is to move back and forth over the cans to "effectively" crush them, while the lady runs to and fro to pick up the sufficiently crushed cans. (They were still working on this plan when we returned to the hotel several hours later) Those Crazy Germans. :-)

So, today was spent checking out the Ku'Damm area and Schloss Charlottenburg. We wandered around took pictures with some of the many Berlin Bears we saw around. Schloss Charlottenburg was beautiful, but kind of felt out of touch and slightly boring at the same time. Guess it not really my thing. I thought the gardens would be immaculate, but they were so structured their beauty was kind of lost on me.

We had a really great meal at Brauhaus Lemke. Very German, but very North Dakota at the same time. Great Dark beer and Brittney really enjoyed her wiener, as well.

We then checked out the big flea market at Tiergarten. Lots of stuff to plunder through, but nothing really caught our eye enough to buy. Then we strolled around the Museumsinsel area and looked at more flea market finds. We were kind of wandering around quietly seeing things, but not being wowed and then all of a sudden we rounded a corner and saw it. The Berliner Dom. Awe worthy, it was hard to take pictures of it because you didn't know what to take first. The cathedral still has daily mass and is under construction right now, that is why it doesn't have its steeple on top.

The following day started out at the East Gallery, where there are 1200 meters of intact Berlin Wall. It was really interesting it view and we even got to listen in on an English speaking tour guides commentary.

We wandered around some more taking in the sites with our final stop being the TV Tower, which was slightly underwhelming and more of a hassle than we would have liked. We also got to fully experience Europe's non-appreciation for personal space while waiting in line to go up, as well as some distinctive odor in the extremely fast elevator ride to the top, oh and on the way back down as well.

We went back to our hotel for a final time and packed our stuff up (this was what our hotel room looked like by the way, more dorm room than hotel, but completely adequate), so we would be ready for our early departure to Prague by train.

Brittney will not enjoy that I put this picture up, but it is the only one I have of this momentous occasion.

Berlin was really great and we had an excellent time. We could have even used an additional day to really focus in on some areas we just glanced at. I would highly recommend the adventure. I will put an entry about Prague in a separate post...